SPAWN of KONG

spawn_of_kong @ 2026-01-25T20:05:00

2026-01-26T01:08:28Z

I'm beginning to think that my biggest obstacle to landing a new job (or a new relationship, for that matter) is just my really abysmal luck.

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"Avatar: Fire and Ash"

2026-01-10T16:32:41Z

Passable, but the final third comes perilously close to being the first two movies' greatest hits. I understand 2 more movies are in production -- let's hope they have enough new material to justify another 6 hours.

B.

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"The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim"

2024-12-21T15:42:57Z

I liked this one probably more than most will. Story-wise, it was mostly satisfying, barring a few nits. The quality of the animation, however, made me wish this had been released directly to streaming rather than given a theatrical release.

B-

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...

2024-11-07T01:50:15Z

I just don't understand... *facepalm*

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"Alien: Romulus"

2024-08-16T15:35:59Z

Amazingly, and without giving too much away, this installment manages to take a lot of elements that were heavily (and rightly) lambasted in prior Alien/AvP movies and actually sort of make them work in this one. There's not a whole lot that's original, but the bar has been set so low by the post-Aliens movies that an installment that's not too disappointing is a definite relief.

That said, while it is nice to finally see a character of Asian descent in these movies, I'm a little conflicted about the portrayal of the sole Black character.

"B-/B"

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spawn_of_kong @ 2024-07-09T12:25:00

2024-07-09T16:31:54Z

I remember over 10 years ago visiting my granddad in Nashville near the end of August, and being bowled over by the 90+-degree weather and high humidity. I remember thinking how relieved I was this was only happening down South and not in New Jersey.

Now, here in NJ, it's been regularly 90 or above this summer, with no signs of stopping. I don't want to imagine what it's like down in Tennessee.

For those of you out there who still think the global temperature isn't increasing: go get your heads examined.

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"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"

2024-06-20T00:11:38Z

A very belated review (of course I wait to post this until the movie's out of theaters):

Excellent -- the best in this series since Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Could do without the villain being a bonobo again, though (especially since he doesn't particularly look like one). Also could use some more gorillas; preferably non-villainous ones as well. All in all, though, a worthy installment, and one that has me excited for future developments.

"A+"

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"Hundreds of Beavers"

2024-05-09T14:24:00Z

It's been nearly a week since I first saw this, and I still can't get enough. Fucking brilliant. My only complaint is that it does drag in a few places -- the jokes do keep coming in these areas, but they aren't quite as funny. Fortunately, they save the best for last.

"A"

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"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"

2023-06-30T14:53:46Z

Huh. Kind of depressing, really.

C+/B-

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spawn_of_kong @ 2022-06-25T16:06:00

2022-06-25T20:12:57Z

It's times like this that I wish Fandom Wank and its affiliates were still live. There's some beautiful entitlement wank happening on one of my FB comms, but no one to share it with. :-(

ETA: Damn. Bahleeted.

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A Public Service Statement

2022-05-23T16:49:29Z

I'll just put it out here:

It is possible to enjoy dinosaurs in all forms, both as the animals they were, and as the movie "monsters" that Hollywood has made them.

I for example, am amped about both Prehistoric Planet and Jurassic World: Dominion. Yet the way battle lines have been drawn between the two, I apparently don't exist.

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spawn_of_kong @ 2022-03-31T17:09:00

2022-03-31T21:09:25Z

Oh, look. Greg Paul's (re)developed a persecution complex. Charming.

I hope someone else calls him out on this, lest I feel compelled to do so myself -- I have a feeling my reply would be rather blunt.

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spawn_of_kong @ 2022-01-01T15:02:00

2022-01-01T20:02:07Z

Okay, so 2021 wasn't the roaring dumpster fire that 2020 was. Still, room for improvement.

Personally speaking, it's not all bad news. My girlfriend and I have been in our apartment for six months now, I've been vaccinated and boosted, I have a niece in addition to my nephew, and my job is relatively steady.

On the other hand, I definitely have to watch my spending habits and/or get a job that pays better. The rise of Delta and Omnicron is distressing, to say the least, particularly the latter -- I managed to get it just in time for Christmas, leading to a very lonely holiday. And let's not forget, 2021 started with an attempted coup; voting rights are also under siege, not to mention abortion rights.

...Like I said, room for improvement.

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Things I'm thankful for: 2021

2021-11-25T00:03:44Z

- Our new apartment
- My niece (6 months old already!)
- My sister and brother-in-law (the parents of the aforementioned niece, as well as her older brother) getting a house
- The COVID vaccines
- The COVID vaccines for kids
- Being able to wake up without wondering what dangerous, idiotic thing The Orange Turd has done this time

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"Godzilla vs. Kong"

2021-04-01T00:59:44Z

Delightfully bonkers. If this is the last MonsterVerse film, at least they went out on a high note.

"B+/A-"

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Belated First Vaccine Post

2021-03-26T16:25:23Z

Got my first vaccine (Pfizer) yesterday. The downside is that today my arm feels like someone took a hammer to it. But the upside is that I'm six weeks closer to immunity (for the next year at least).

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A day (or two) late, but what the hell...

2021-01-22T01:00:37Z

I really, really hope the door hit Drumpf's ass on the way out.

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Feeling pissed off about this week? Good, here's another thing to enrage you.

2021-01-12T01:21:21Z

"Manatee With ‘Trump’ Etched Into Back Sparks Federal Investigation."

OH. FUCK. NO.

Seriously, who the fuck gets off on mutilating a fucking manatee?!

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spawn_of_kong @ 2021-01-10T20:54:00

2021-01-11T01:56:32Z

Ok, now that the euphoria of Trump's bannination from Twitter and Facebook has worn off, all I can think is:

Talk about too little, too late.

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spawn_of_kong @ 2021-01-06T17:37:00

2021-01-06T22:42:07Z

...Wow. I knew Trump would leave the White House kicking and screaming, but the mob of ~~domestic terrorists~~ supporters at/in the Capitol is still gobsmacking to see.

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Biden/Harris 2020

2020-11-08T15:06:07Z

Yesterday I let out a breath I feel like I've been holding all this past month.

Of course, I'm still eyeing the Senate and House races nervously -- this election has been way closer than it probably should have. Plus, hey, COVID-19 isn't going away any time soon. And probably neither is Trumpism and its adherents. This whole next year is still going to be full of surprises, probably not all pleasant.

Still, the Presidential results make me hopeful that this nation has at least some capacity to correct its mistakes.

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And on the start of Rosh Hashanah, too...

2020-09-19T00:21:59Z

R.I.P., Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Sadly, you just know the GOP are going to rush in someone to fill her seat...

...Is it time to just give up America as a lost cause?

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Blast from the Past: Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner

2020-05-27T15:22:29Z

As quarantine continues, I've been rewatching all kinds of things from my youth: lots of old Disney movies (thank you, Disney+), Monty Python's Flying Circus, and most recently, the Looney Tunes shorts featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Turns out I'd misremembered the latter in some ways:

- I'd always thought that the Coyote's failures were due solely to his ineptitude, his mishandling of the ACME products, and/or the unreliability of said products. I'd forgotten that, in addition to all of the above, the laws of physics also apparently hate his guts.

- I'd always remembered the Road Runner as being utterly oblivious to Wile E.'s attempts to kill him. Turns out he's at least somewhat aware, and in some cases outright taunts the Coyote after the fact.

- It's interesting to see the art style evolve across the shorts -- the early ones' backgrounds look surprisingly realistic compared to the more stylized ones of later shorts, with which I'm more familiar.

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I do love it when bullying backfires so epically.

2020-04-13T20:22:33Z

Peter Navarro: You can't criticize us! 60 Minutes never covered the possibility of pandemics during the Obama or Bush administrations!

60 Minutes: ...Yes, we did. Both times. Have a look.

The only thing missing is getting to see Navarro's reaction.

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Clairvoyant Wankas?

2020-04-09T21:28:37Z

With the lockdown in full swing, I've been revisiting some of the old wanks on JF (thanks, Wayback Machine). In the comments for "His Wife? A Horse," I found this thread.

Two reactions:
1. Well, at least they were off by 13 years
2. I didn't realize Terry Jones had been pegged as the next one to go quite that early

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